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30 January 2012

What happened to the pancakes!?

My husband loves pancakes! It's no surprise why - as he makes delicious whole-wheat cinnamon pancakes. Every so often, he gets the urge and treats us to a pancake breakfast with a smorgasbord of toppings - homemade jam, crabapple jelly, local honey, the ever-present Québec maple syrup, and for him, pure,unadulterated, nothing-but-nuts peanut butter we get in bulk. To my knowledge, the only breakfast he likes better than pancakes is burritos (and that's for a different post).

So imagine my curiosity when he decided to make something else for brunch Saturday morning. We weren't having company over, and we had all the time in the world. It could have been a grand biscuits-and-gravy morning, something more Mexican-themed, or pancakes. Instead, he pulled "Julia Child" off the shelf, and a while later I heard the blender running.We usually work together in the kitchen, but when he is whipping up breakfast, I tend to settle in with a cup of something hot, and do some idea-snacking on blogs or the BBC news website. Which is exactly what happened. Eventually, a sample, fresh off the pan, waltzed in and melted in my mouth. It was light-weight, supple and loaded with buttery "mmm....".

C r ê p e s !

We ate our fill of them, slathered with rhubarb jam, filled with peanut butter and honey, and wrapped around a drizzle of maple syrup and home-canned peaches. We maxed out the toppings options, and even tried fresh Parmesan cheese with a drip-drop or two of maple syrup. Every one was divine, delicate, straight-out-of-the-pan warm, and a blank canvas for innovation. As some readers know, one of us has a sweet tooth - he makes pancakes, crêpes, etc. One of us prefers the savory side of breakfast, hands down, every time. I had to try something sans sugar for the last bites, and hit the jackpot! Hot crêpe, grated Parmesan, sprinkle of spicy mixed greens, tiny shavings of ham, fresh ground pepper, and a drizzle of left-over balsamic-mustard vinaigrette. Ohhhh...wow!

I am not sure if he meant it, but I heard Sweet Tooth say, "I'm making crêpes, not pancakes, from now on!" If you want in on the fun, here's the recipe. I was told he followed to the "T", which is advisable - it was the first time. NOTE: The key "ingredient" is a good pan or other cooking surface - you may be sorely disappointed without it.

Immediately remove from heat, and pour a scant 1/4 C. batter into middle of the pan. Quickly tilt pan in all directions to run batter all over bottom of pan in a thin film. Pour an batter that does not adhere back into the remaining batter. Should take 2-3 seconds to do all of this.

Return to heat for 60-80 seconds, then jerk pan a bit to loosen edges of crêpe. Lift edges, and if browned, flip quickly.

Cook for another 30 seconds, until nicely browned.

First crêpe, test crêpe - check the consistency of the batter, the amount you need for a crêpe, and the heat of the pan. Your cooked crêpe should be about 1/16th inch thick.

NOTES

Our large non-stick skillet has sloped sides (like a shallow wok), and worked quite well for this, without any oil.

Crêpes can be kept warm prior to serving (use warm setting of toaster oven or oven), or cooled and re-heated for use later. According to the recipe, crêpes can even be frozen and thawed with no loss to texture!

Funny thing, we inadvertently did this just in time for "La chandeleur" (Candlemas), which the French evidently always celebrate with crêpes. Here's a link to more info on the holiday, if you were as curious as we were: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_of_Jesus_at_the_Temple